HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Before we could unpack from our trip to Houston for All-Star Weekend the news hit us all. Hall of Fame Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss lost his battle with cancer Monday.

It was a bittersweet start to the busiest week of the NBA season, what with Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline usually dominating the headlines and airwaves. And it should prove to be just as compelling as usual, with the rumors always outpacing the actual deals in terms of sizzle.

We did our best to squeeze all of that and more into Episode 105 of the Hang Time Podcast, which also features a guest appearance from recent Michigan Sports Hall of Fame inductee and NBA TV’s very own Steve Smith.

In addition to our chat with Smitty, we also got some quality time with the greatest winner in the history of the game, Bill Russell. The living legend and 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics (which should explain our penchant for referring to him as “The Lord of the Rings”), sat down for an interview during All-Star Weekend and shared some insights on the past, present and future of the game.

Do you agree with Michael Jordan‘s “five is better than one” choice of Kobe Bryant over LeBron James? What did Rick Fox say to Dwight Howard when they met face-to-face during All-Star Weekend? And where in the heck is Hawks forward Josh Smith headed, if anywhere, before Thursday’s deadline?

Check out all of that and more on Episode 105 of the Hang Time Podcast.

3 Comments

Nice podcast guys, but I kind of agree that mistakes can devestate a franchise, and maybe the Darko draft led up to that, but I think the mistake that has handcuffed the Pistons today is not necessarily the Darko draft but rather the Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signings, then maybe the Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince extensions.

Great podcast guys, but I do have to ask. Is Sekou eating during the podcast? Cause’ it just sounds like every time he starts a sentence, he just swallowed a cookie or smth. Big fan Rick, loved the Dwight beat-down, as far as what it takes to win.